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n 2015
the Lyon division of ASN carried out 353 inspections in the Auvergne and Rhône-
Alpes regions, of which 94 were in the 4 nuclear power plants, 76 in plants and facilities
undergoing decommissioning, 168 in small-scale nuclear activities and 15 in the transport
of radioactive substances. ASN also carried out 55 days of labour inspections in the four nuclear
power plants and on the Creys-Malville site.
In 2015, the Lyon divisionwas notified of 394 significant events, of which 314 occurred in BNIs,
19 in the transport of radioactive substances and 61 in small-scale nuclear activities. Among the
events notified for the BNIs, 25 were rated level 1 on the INES scale. In the small-scale nuclear
activities, out of the 61 notified events, 2 were rated level 1 on the INES scale, to which can be
added 13 events concerning radiotherapy patients. Among the notified events concerning the
transport of radioactive substances, 2 were rated level 1 on the INES scale.
On 4th March 2015, ASN served formal notice on the head of a nuclear activity at the Pont-
de-Beauvoisin Hospital Centre to comply with certain provisions of the Public Health Code.
1. ASSESSMENT BY DOMAIN
1.1 The nuclear installations
Nuclear power plants
Bugey nuclear power plant
With regard to nuclear safety, ASN notes that following
the significant decline in operating rigour seen in 2013
and early 2014, the start of progress shown by the
Bugey NPP towards the end of 2014 was confirmed in
2015. ASNmoreover carried out an in-depth inspection
in September 2015 which confirmed that measures
taken by the site were going in the right direction:
the licensee has initiated several structuring actions
with regard to safety management to move forward in
the areas in which shortcomings had developed over
the last few years. The NPP has thus made progress
in the alignments and the management of temporary
modifications in the operating technical specifications.
The NPP’s organisation for the monitoring of control
room activities remains tenuous.
With regard to maintenance, ASN notes that the first
two outages of the 2015 campaign went well on the
whole. The reactor 5 outage was marked by damage to
the sealing of the reactor building containment. Through
ASN resolution 2015-DC-0533 of 1st December 2015,
ASN asked EDF to submit the metal liner repair processes
to it for approval and to perform the repairs before
restarting the reactor.
With regard to environmental protection, ASN considers
that the site controls its operating discharges. ASN
nevertheless notes shortcomings in the containment of
liquids, whether radioactive or chemical. ASN considers
that correcting these shortcomings, which result from
ageing of the facilities, requires the implementation of
an ambitious programme focusing on both equipment
maintenance and ensuring better management of non-
routine operating activities.
With regard to occupational radiation protection,
ASN considers that the results of the Bugey NPP are
encouraging. With regard to risk prevention, the first
three quarters of 2015 saw an improvement in the
occupational safety and risk prevention indicators after
two years of mediocre results in this area: ASN observes
that these results have once again declined since the
outage of reactor 5 began.
Saint-Alban/Saint-Maurice nuclear power plant
ASN considers that the nuclear safety performance of
the Saint-Alban/Saint-Maurice NPP is, on the whole, in
line with its general assessment of the EDF plants. The
quantitative indicators for 2015 are generally pointing
in the right direction, showing that the fundamental
work – which began in 2011 – to lastingly redress the
site’s performance is bearing fruit.
Regarding maintenance work, EDF performed two
simple reactor refuelling outages in 2015, which were
successful on the whole. ASN nevertheless noted some
weak points in the application of the maintenance
programme schedules.
LYON DIVISION
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CHAPTER 08 :
REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND RADIATION PROTECTION
ASN report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2015